The ”strongman of Benghazi”: “I would advise foreign countries including yours not to interfere in our domestic affairs. Let Libyans deal with Libya”

di Lorenzo Cremonesi, our correspondent in Benghazi

Cyrenaica’s new strongman agreed to meet us for four hours in his office in a high-security base near Benghazi airport, where he talked about the war against Isis and his great respect for the relationship with Moscow, as well as touching on the issue of migrants, and the difficult relations with Italy and Fayez Serraj’s government in Tripoli. “Italians are always welcome here. Too bad that some have chosen to side with our enemies,” commented General Khalifa Haftar. Born on 7 November 1943 in the region of Benghazi, and a supporter of the young Gaddafi, he became his trusted general before passing over to the opposition ranks. After a period of exile in the United States, he returned with the hope of leading the 2011 revolution as a professional soldier. Haftar is offended when people compare him to Gaddafi for his plan to rebuild the army, starting in eastern Libya, and to defeat the militias and drive out jihadists from all over the country. “Me, like Gaddafi? That’s a ridiculous lie without any grounds! Those who say this are unaware of my long, difficult struggle against him,” he blurts out bluntly.

General, three years ago they accused you of organizing a coup when you announced your intention to use the old army against Isis terrorists. Today your diehards are on the outskirts of Tripoli and Benghazi looks much safer. What is your aim? “To understand our successes, we need to remember the widespread disappointment after the fall of Gaddafi. Libyans were expecting peace, security and democracy, but instead saw an immediate upsurge of radicalism linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Libyans were called to vote already in 2012, but after decades of dictatorship they had no idea what democracy meant; they were simply not ready. The forces of terrorism thus emerged from the Transitional Council and the first Tripoli Parliament. The people elected the wrong representatives, who took advantage to promote Al Qaeda and even the new Isis, together with a dangerous vision of Islam.”

When did you get involved? “You Europeans do not know how quickly Isis and local Islamic movements like Ansar al Sharia began to threaten, kidnap and assassinate those they considered enemies. It started especially in the East, but spread like wildfire. From 2012 until the beginning of my operation Karama [“Dignity”, Ed.] in May 2014, more than 700 soldiers and at least as many civilians in Benghazi and Cyrenaica were killed. They were mostly journalists, intellectuals, Christians, lawyers, professors, judges, moderate imams, and defenders of women’s and civil rights. Anyone protesting, even just on the Internet, was brutally eliminated, and photos of corpses were published to frighten people and force them to remain silent.”

How was it organized? “In Tripoli I tried to launch appeals and ask for help from old soldiers, but the government wanted to arrest me. Then I came to Benghazi, where I gathered 300 volunteers among the most loyal soldiers along with 25 armed officers, equipped with 75 vehicles of various kinds. On 16 May 2014, we launched a large attack on Rafallah Sati, the Isis base and Al Qaeda in the centre of Benghazi. They had 7,000 men, but were not expecting our attack, and we killed 250 of their leaders. The next day there were 2,000 new volunteers in front of my barracks, many with guns and food in their backpacks for a month. Our numbers just kept on growing, and now I can rely on a force of 50,000 men, controlling about 80 percent of the country. We patrol the oil fields and terminals here in the East in Ras Lanuf, Brega, and Al Sidr. Nobody steals gas or crude oil, and people are law-abiding. Even the Berbers from the Nafusah mountains south of Tripoli are our allies.”

Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s best-known son, is a prisoner in the area. Does he have a political future? “I don’t think so; his political career is over.”

How many losses there have been? “Isis and jihadists have suffered some 7,000 dead. But they have received new volunteers from abroad. Today, 150 are left fighting, surrounded in two districts of Benghazi. We have lost about 5,000 soldiers. Unfortunately, the jihadists are also helped by some of the militias in Misrata, who are radicals and fight our project to dismantle them in the name of the army’s supremacy.”

Misrata has lost 1,000 men against Isis in recent months in Sirte, so why should they help jihadist columns in Benghazi? “Without American help Misrata would never have taken Sirte. They moved only when they saw that my soldiers were about to encircle it. Anyway, some of their brigades, such as Faruq, are allies of Isis, and share their fanaticism and religious beliefs.” You have been to Moscow recently.

Your visit coincided with Russia’s growing influence in the Middle East, especially after the withdrawal of Syrian rebels from Aleppo. Have you received help from Putin? “Libya has a long history of good relations with Russia. I went to Moscow because I wanted to resume a few contracts which had been interrupted in 2011. I appreciated Putin’s policy and his efforts to fight terrorism in the Middle East.”

Did he promise you weapons? “Moscow is part of the UN Security Council, which voted for the military embargo against us. It acts seriously and respects international conventions. We were told that weapons can only arrive after the end of the embargo, but Putin is committed to having it lifted. However, we expect everyone to help us fight Isis. We would be pleased to cooperate with Britain, France or Germany, and Italy too of course, but so far the government in Rome has unfortunately decided to help the other side. You sent 250 soldiers and medical personnel to run the Misrata hospital, but gave us nothing. In recent days we were promised two planes to transport some of our seriously injured to Italian hospitals. But so far they have not arrived, perhaps because of bad weather. We would have expected more cooperation. We appreciated the speech at the end of the year by your Chief of Staff visiting Misrata.”

What do you mean? “He said that Italy supports the militias in Misrata, and their role goes beyond a strictly medical peace mission. I know the issues of your hospital. The number two in your intelligence services is a good friend of mine; he often comes to see me and we have talked about it several times. But I would advise foreign countries not to interfere in our internal affairs. Let Libyans deal with Libya.”

The migrants arriving from Libya are a serious European problem. Don’t you think we are all involved? “We are a country of transit. If our army manages to control our southern border, the problem will be less serious for everyone. This also applies to the issue of energy facilities so dear to Italy. I’d be happy to talk with ENI executives.”

Like most of Europe and the UN, Italy supports the unity government of Prime Minister Serraj. Are you ready to cooperate with him? “We are at war, and security issues are paramount. The circumstances do not permit the slower approach required by politics. We need to fight to save the country from Islamic extremists. I, however, started to talk to Serraj two and a half years ago, but without any concrete results. Once we have defeated the extremists we can get back to talking about democracy and elections. But not now.”

Serraj has also called for negotiations. The Algerian press reports that you are about to meet. Can you confirm this? “No. I know nothing about this. Personally I have nothing against Serraj. The last time we spoke directly was on 16 January 2016. The problem is not him, but the people around him. If he really intends to fight to bring peace to our country, he should grab a rifle and join our ranks. He will always be welcome.”